Skip hoist



Feb 26H), i923.

G. E. MELUN SKIP HOIST FJ' J ed NOV. l2 1921 3 sheets-sheet l Feb. 2U, H923.

G. E. MELUN SKIP HGIST Filed Nov. l2, 1921 5 sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. m w23. ,Mmmm

G. E. MELUN y f SKIP HOLST Filed Nov. 12, 1921 5 sheets-sheet 5 vif Patented Feb. 20, i923.

STATE-S GEORGE E. MELLIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SKIP HOIST.

Application filed November 12, 1921.

T 0 all H'zom 'it Amay concern.'

Be it known that I, (iriconos E. M icLmN, a citizen of the United States. residing at Westerleigln in the borough of Richmond. of the city of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Skip Hoists, of which the following is a specification. reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to skip hoists designed primarily foi use in thel transfer 0f ashes, coal and the like. from a pit to an elevated hopper. More particularly it is concerned with a skip hoist which has a pivotally hung bucket, the truck of which travels on a continuous track which passes from a generally horizontal plane to a generally vertical plane. Operations in the Held which the improved construction lills have heretofore been practised with apparatus/which is illy adapted to meet all requirements, is dirty, wasteful, inei'licient and crude, resulting in poor current operations and frequent repairs and replacements. It is proposed in accordance with the present invention to operate the truck of the skip hoist by means of fair rope leads which are so related to the truck and to the trackway as to insure maximum head room, a clear pit, a pull always parallel to the direction of travel of the truck and the elimination of sagging and whipping in the cable. In accordance with the invention the'skip hoist is in the bight of a cable which is anchored at its opposite ends and passed over an ope'rating drum, a plurality of sheaves being carried with the traveling truck to direct the rope along the track-Way. i

Still another object of the invention is to improve generally the construction of skip hoists having pivotally hung buckets in certain respects, some of which are particularly related to the improved system of operating such hoists and some of which are generally applicable to such buckets and particularly useful in the loading and dumping operations thereon. One such im provement consists in the'provision of a hinged bail for the truck on which may be journaled the guide sheaves for the operating rope. Still another of these improvements has to do with the rollers at the sides of the bucket frame which co-operate with guard rails in the track-Way to prevent tip- Serial No. 514,510.

ping of the bucket during loading and which engage dumping cams mounted in their path to tip the bucket automatically when it is to be unloaded.

These and other objects and advantages of the improvements herein will be brought out in greater detail hereinafter in connection with the detailed description of the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, whereini Figure l is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section through a coaling pit and hoist-way with a skip hoist operable therein for conveying and elevating coal.

Figure 2 is a detail view in plan on a somewhat larger scale showing the improved truck for supporting the pivotal bucket.

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation of the bucket shown in Figure 2.

.Figure 4 is a view partly in transverse section and partly in end elevation showing the bucket in position for coaling.

.Figure 5 is a schematic View showing the leads for operating the traveling truck.

As indicated hereinbefore the improvements are concerned particularly with apparatus adapted to meet conditions wherein coal, ashes or the like, need to be conveyed along the horizontal for a distance and then elevated for deposit. Such a situation is indicated in Figure l wherein the coal pit is illustrated at (L and a series of valve-controlled discharge hoppers at Z), b, etc., for the discharge of coal to be transferred to the elevated hopper, indicated at c, from whence it may be supposed that the coal is ultimately deposited in a car d. rlhe problem' of providing a container which Will travel in both horizontal and vertical planes on an even keel is solved by having a pivotally hung bucket e, which is supported by trunnions e on a truck frame, indicated generally at j', the wheels for which are shown at f. The center of gravity of this pivotally hung bucket is, of course, below the axis of its pivotal support. Having this condition` nevertheless, the real problem of providing fair rope leads for moving the truck along its tracks g presents itself. It has been proposed, for instance, to provide a single draw cable stretched along the pit between the tracks g and thence arranged over sheaves on the hoist-Way to elevate the bucket. This arrangement is obviously unsatisfactory and inefficient since it clutters up the track-Way With sheaves, reducing the effective head room, permits the cable to sag and whip, and in changing direction imposes i. pull on the truck which is entirely out ot line with its direction ot travel. In accordance with the presentinvention, these objections are entirely eliminated and supplanted by a system which offers numerous advantages. The truck f carries at its front and rear sides a plurality of sheaves t, h, h2, h3, shown as arranged in pairs for the purpose of receiving over them the operating cable z' and directing the leads thereof along the pit in' proximity to the tracks g.

Considering for the moment the sheaves fi,

k at the front end of the truck, it will be seen that the leads of the cable pass over guide rolls It" supported along the sides of the track-way and thence over othersheaves, indicated in Figure 5, at Za to change the direction of ull when the truck strikes the elevator Z. ince the guide rollers c, c, 7a2, etc. for the operating cable z' are, wherever found, always substantially in the plane ot the track g, it necessarily follows that the direction of pull of the cable as applied to the truck through the front sheaves h, i is always in the plane of travel of the truck. Further, this condition insures the elimination of the Whipping and sagging of the cable and a free track-Way and pit with maximum head room throughout. In Figure 5, the cable z' is shown as passing over idler sheaves 762 to a hoisting drum 7c3 and finally over idler sheaves 7c* around the sheaves h2, h3 at the rear of the truck, for anchorage at its dead end. This arrangement places the truck in the bight ot the cable and, of course, movement in.one direction is compensated tor correspondingly by paying out in the other direction. At all times the leads are fair Whether the truck be traveling forward or backward.

An improvement which has been found desirable has to do With the mounting ot the several sheaves 7L, h', h2, h3, in pairs in hinged bails fm, n, at the front and rear of the truck respectively. rPhe frames m, n ot these bails, respectively, are of such torni as to permit the respective pairs ot sheaves to be journaled freely therein and are held in proper relation .to the line of pull of the cable and to the truck frame by. means of supplemental, rollers m2. n?, respectively, which ride along the tiacks g. The pull ot the cable z' is impressed directly on these balls depending upon the direction of travel ot the track. ln changing direction from the horizontal to the vertical. or vice versa, it irill be evident that the pivoted trames my. n contorni to the line .of pull and changed direction in accordance with the thrust to be transmitted lto the truck. ln

this wayall lateral stresses are entirely eliminated and the principal advantages ot the improvements as described hereinbefore are insured since the line of pull is alvvays kept in the plane ot travel of the truck.

As shown most clearly in Eigures 2 and 3, the frame of the bucket e carries thereon beloW the trunnions c a plurality of rollers e2 at its, opposite sides which, when the bucket is in loading position, may co-operate with guard rails 0 mounted at the sides ot the pit a. It Will'be unnecessary to duplicate these rolls and guard rails, but at all events, 'the effect thereof Will be to prevent the bucket from tilting about its trunnions e through the engagement of the rollers with the guard rails, during loading. These rollers in the improved construction have not only been made to serve the purpose described but, in addition. bring about the dumping of the bucket when it has reached its proper position with relation to the hopper c orother point of deposit. To this end. a dumping cam plate is shown on the elevator at Z in such relation to the track f/ as to be engaged by the oncoming roller e2 of the bucket e when the car reaches that point. Continuous movement of the truck with the appropriate roller e2 engaged With the cam Z Will cause the bucket to tilt about its trunnions e and deposit its charge automatically. Movement of the truck in the contrary direction will permit the bucket to return to normal position under the inlluence of gravity.

From the description given, it will be apparent that While the principal feature of the invention `has to do with the operating mechanism for the skip hoist, the other improvements addressed to its construction are advantageous in practice but may be employed either alone or in combination with the other features Without departing from i tion With 'a horizontal and inclined track- Way, a truck traveling thereon, a bucket pivotallyhung on the truck, an operating cable for the truck. a pluralityT of sheaves mounted on the truck and around which the cable passes to maintain fair leads ot the cable in proximity to the tracks, and guide rolls tor the cable supported in proximity to the tracks below7 the level orm the truck.

3. ln a skip hoist installation, in combination with a horizontal and inclined trackin thv hight of the cable to and fro along thv track-way.

4. ln a skip hoist installation, in conihination with a horizontal and inclined trackivajv, a truck traveling thereon, a bucket pivotall)v hung` on the truck. an; operating cable for the truck, pivotvd hails at the front and rear ot' the truck. and sheaves carried on said hails adjacent the tracks, respectively. and around which the operating cahlv passes with Jair leads in proxiinit v to thv tracks.

In a skip hoist installation, in combination with a horizontal and `inclined trackway. a truck traveling thereon, a bucket pivotally hungA on the truck. an operating 'able for thv truck, pivoted hails at the front and rear ot' thvtriuk.shvaves carried on said hails adjacent the tracks, respectively, and around which the operating cable passes with fair leads in proximity to the tracks,

and rollers on said hails adapted to run on the tracks.

t5. In a skip hoist installation, in conibinat-ion with a horizontal and inclinvd trackway, a truck travvlin; thereon. a bucketpivotall)Y hung,r on the truckpan operating cahle t'or the truck, pivotvd hails at the front, and rear ot' the truck` sheaves carried on said hails adjacent thv tracks, rvs icctively, and around which the operating callilc passes with fair leads in proximity to the tracks, rollers on said hails adapted to run on the tracks, and guide rolls for the leads ot` the cable supported at spaced intervals in proxv iniit)v to the tracks T. In a skip hoist installation of the character deserihed` in combination with the track-way, a truck to travel thereon, a hucket pivotallyv hung on the truck, a plurality of rollers carried on the hucket below the pivotal axis, a guard rail oif'erlying the said rollers when thv truck is in loading position to prevent. tiltingr of the"hucl:et` and a dumping! plate adapted to he engaged by one ot said rollers Jfor tilting' of the bucket when at the dumping point.

This specification signed this 9th day of November, A. D. 1921.

GEORGE E. MELLN. 

